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History

Advocates for Ohio’s Future began in 2003 as the Emergency Campaign to Protect Ohio’s Future, a coalition of health and human service organizations seeking to protect Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens through a responsible state budget that adequately funded vital services.

The Emergency Campaign to Protect Ohio’s Future made its mark by standing in solidarity so that no one human service provider was pitted against another. Through a commitment to a broader vision of health and human services, the coalition celebrated many successes since its founding:

“The Penny Is Important” campaign in 2004 to increase the state sales tax by one cent to support health and human services;

Creation of a dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund in 2004;

Defeat of the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 2004 that would have set debilitating spending caps on vital services for children and other vulnerable populations; and

Increased funding for PASSPORT in several budget cycles – a program that provides in-home care for frail elderly at a cost much lower than nursing home care, keeping older Ohioans in their homes and self-sufficient.

In 2010, the Campaign to Protect Ohio’s Future became Advocates for Ohio’s Future to better reflect a long-term commitment to promote budget and policy solutions to strengthen families and communities at a time when so many Ohioans were struggling because of the recession.

In its first biennial budget (that began July 1, 2011) as Advocates for Ohio’s Future, important policy decisions were made to strengthen families and communities:

Home- and community-based long-term care services for seniors were prioritized over institutional care;

Medicaid match for behavioral health services was elevated to the state as a first step in integrating physical and behavioral health care;

The Ohio Housing Trust Fund was preserved despite attempts to redirect funding for affordable housing to county recorders;

Funding for adoption subsidies in child welfare was maintained;

Funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers was maintained; and

Access to early childhood services, such as child care and home visiting, was maintained for all currently enrolled families.

Despite the successes, funding for mental health and addiction services remained woefully inadequate. Local government social services were slashed, and waiting lists persisted for long-term care supports for people with disabilities.